A follow up blog post to my other employment advice, click here. I have seen and heard too many stories of how new employees are roped into a company and then realising that they have joined a company that did not seem like how it portrayed itself during the interview. So, here are some basic advice from my own experience:
1. Negotiate your pay and terms before you start work
Many times, our potential employers may not meet our salary expectation but they would want to hire us. They then ask you to come in to work first whilst the higher management “discuss” about your salary. More often than not, they won’t meet your salary expectations. Their plan is to get you in to work first and then give you a false impression of how “good” the company is and you would actually believe that they will give you what you want.
A week would have passed when you get your appointment letter and some of us choose to stay since we have blended in or some would just leave the company. To avoid any of these scenarios, please please negotiate your pay before stepping into the company. Never trust a company if they offer you a lower pay as “training” first cause you’re a qualified PT and you don’t need anymore “training”. It’s a trick to get you in first!
2. Read and clarify everything in your contract before signing
Always, always, read your contract before signing!!!! Do not be pressured to sign on the spot, always read it thoroughly and seek advice from people whom you think have more experience in reading contracts. There are lots of terms to clarify and everything mentioned in the contract must be true.
For example, if the contract says you get 14 days leave and the employer told you that you would get 15 days leave during the interview then that is a problem. Which is true? 14 or 15? It is 14 days cause it is written down and if this goes to court, you would definitely lose so point out all the mistakes in the contract. Never take the word of an employer as the truth, everything they promised you must be written down in black and white, this is for reference sake just in case something happens in the future.
3. Don’t sign the contract until all changes have been made
Again, you have the time to wait for the contract to be amended. There is no need to rush into the working world. Remember to initial on every page of the contract, just to be safe!
4. Your benefits
In Malaysia, we get benefits like EPF and SOCSO as our employee benefit. Some companies would only cover your EPF and SOCSO after your probation which is nonsensical to me. I call those companies, the chinaman company because they’re stingy and calculative so be careful if you meet such employers.
Other benefits such as CPD funding, medical allowance, transport and so on is up to your employer.
5. Roles and responsibilities
Our responsibilities as a PT is to Ax and Rx patients right? I wish it was that simple. We are ask to perform tasks and duties deemed necessary by our employers. That itself is a loophole for our employer to ask us to do anything/everything. Different employers have different styles so be wise in choosing them.
Hopefully, I have helped you readers. Do comment and add on other points which you think is important. Thank you.
